Woman says baby abandoned at fire station is her son

Updated 7:42 am, Friday, August 16, 2013

Update: CPS says the father of the abandoned baby is fighting for custody, and did not know the boy's mother gave up their son, KHOU-Channel 11 reported late Wednesday. The child remains in foster care for now, KHOU says.

Previous report:

A Houston woman who officials believe is the mother of a baby abandoned Monday morning has come forward to admit that she left the child, but doesn't want to claim him.

The boy, dressed in a red onesie, was found in a stroller at Houston Fire Department Station 39 at 5810 Pickfair near Kelley on the city's northeast side.

The woman showed up at an emergency custody hearing on Tuesday and explained why she felt she could no longer keep the baby.

Posters explaining the state's Baby Moses Law are displayed at the offices of the Harris County Protective Services for Children and Adults.

Posters explaining the state's Baby Moses Law are displayed at the offices of the Harris County Protective Services for Children and Adults.

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff

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Woman says baby abandoned at fire station is her son

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"She still wants to leave him under our care," Child Protective Services spokeswoman Estella Olguin said. "She looks just like him. She had all of his paperwork and photos of him throughout the months."

DNA testing ordered

The child was born on Dec. 16, which makes him 8 months old on Friday. Medical personnel had estimated the 20-pound boy was 9 or 10 months old.

The woman, who is in her early 30s, also has a teenage child. The family has no previous involvement with CPS.

The mother also was interviewed by two Houston Police Department detectives, Olguin said.

A judge ordered DNA testing Tuesday, which was performed on the woman shortly after court. Later, a caseworker went to her home and retrieved the child's birth certificate, Social Security card and medical records. The CPS official also spoke to the woman about the boy's father.

"The father does not know the child has been abandoned," Olguin said. "When you're not married, then you're the alleged father and so he would still have to do DNA testing to prove he really is the father."

The boy, whose name was not released, will be placed in a foster home while officials determine whether the purported father is the baby's parent as well as whether the child should be placed with that man or with other family members.

"Those are the people we have to consider first," Olguin said. "If there aren't any willing, available or appropriate relatives, then he can be placed with an adoptive family."

'We applaud her'

While this case doesn't qualify under the state's "Baby Moses" law, Olguin said officials are pleased that the child was delivered unharmed to a fire station.

"She recognized that she couldn't take care of him, and we applaud her for taking him somewhere safe," Olguin said, adding that parents who are overwhelmed or in crisis have options.

Whether the woman will face criminal charges is not known.

Parents or guardians can call CPS at 800-252-5400 if they believe they can no longer care for a child. Private agencies, such as Catholic Charities, also will accept minors for temporary foster care, placement with relatives or adoption.